(Common) Rook

Both sexes: Glossy black, bare face and "baggy trousers".

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The Rook is about the same size as the Carrion
Crow but is more untidy in its appearance.

The plumage is all black with a reddish or purplish gloss but around the base of its beak -
nostrils and chin - is bare skin. The untidy appearance arises from the
slightly peaked head and the thigh feathers, which look like baggy
trousers. The bill and legs are black.

The Rook's bill is longer and more pointed than that of the Carrion
Crow.

Just to add to the confusion, juvenile Rooks do not have the bare skin
around the base of the bill and so look very much like a Carrion Crow, but
purplish gloss to plumage and baggy trousers remain diagnostic.

Rook

Occasionally, leucistic (i.e. pale) Rooks can be seen - these generally
have brown plumage or even cream plumage and pink legs and bill.

It is often said that if you see a flock of crows that they will be Rooks.
This is not strictly true because Carrion Crows do form flocks, but what is
true is that Rooks nest in close-knit colonies but Carrion Crows do not.

Flight Silhouettes & Comparative Sizes

Scientific Name

Corvus frugilegus

Length

45 cm (18")

Wing Span

80-90 cm (32-36")

Weight

460-520 g (1-1¼ lb)

Breeding Pairs

550000

Present

All Year

Status

Green

Voice

Rooks are rarely alone and so their raucous caws can become overwhelming.

Feeding

The Rook's diet, like most crows, is diverse and includes insects, worms,
carrion and seeds. They will visit bird
tables for scraps and fruit.

Nesting

Rooks nest in a colony called a rookery. The nest is built high in a tree
close to other nests. The nest is bulky and made from twigs bound together
with earth, lined with moss, leaves, grass, wool, hair, etc. Previous
years' nests may be renovated and reused.

The hen lays and incubates eggs that are smooth, glossy and light blue,
greenish-blue or green with dark spots. The eggs are about 40 mm long. Both
parents feed the young after they have hatched.

Breeding Starts

Clutches

Eggs

Incubation (days)

Fledge (days)

March-April

1

3-9

16-20

30-36

Movements

Rooks in Britain are mostly sedentary apart from juveniles dispersing from
their natal sites, when they may travel up to 100 kilometres (60 miles), and
some movement from the uplands to lowlands for the winter.

In the winter, the British population is joined by birds from Scandinavia
and the near-continent, such as Germany and Holland.

Conservation

The Rook seems to be doing well with the population increasing slightly
year-on-year and so seems to have adapted to the various changes in
agricultural practices that many other species have been adversely affected
by.